Indie Boutiques

Spot on Andrew! Hit the nail right on the head. Excellent article. The one reason indies will never go away is because they have something the big chains can never have: unique product. By their very nature, anything a large chain like H&M or a large Brand store carries, will be mass produced and common, simply because they are big. Their success is from brand recognition and buying or producing at cheaper volume pricing. But you can't sell 50 of something when you have 100 stores. There will always be a demand for limited quantity items, because the affluent and/or creative customers will always want to wear something different from the crowd. That is the very nature of why fashion changes. The big boys realize this, that's why many designers are teaming up with the really big chains. When a big corporation feels like they need something, they do what they always do, they buy it. that's why VW bought Porsche and Fiat bought Ferrari. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in the fashion industry.

Indie Boutiques

Hmmm. I think ignoring the facts of an entire generation groomed to buy on the 'net cannot be ignored. Consistently accepting that dressing to shop, dealing with staff is rated as unpleasant, limited inventories and parking ... interesting indeed to see another range of collaborations between online retailers and real world retailers, perhaps the immediate wave of the future. Surly staff, difficult returns and uneven pricing along with the nasty fact that here close to Hollywood too many people have access to "samples" and "swag" and "borrowing" for an event. The indie shopping streets are littered with for lease signs, profits are down (even at H&M with its atrocious designer collaborations). Landlords are holding out for higher dollar leases and the margins are slim. It is always about service, fabulous and consistent product and inventory. But competing with designer's own websites is hazardous and the awful idea of everything being associated with a groupon clone, flash sale site and majors marking down every six weeks is killing. It's not too late to save the indie with fresher ideas, more fun and easier shopping. It's work to trek to a store to discover that it's cheaper online and available in your size. Easy breezy to have everything uploaded these days and that along with killer windows, comfy chairs and relaxed shopping could make it all work again.

Indie Boutiques

This is such a huge story. I hope you keep covering, I don't think we have seen even the beginning of the store closures that will happen this year.

Thrive?

First, I totally disagree with Mercedes Gonzalez. Lisa Klein closed, Lisa Rinna closed, Hillary Rush announced today she is closing. Even Moss in NY (not a fashion store, but an iconic retailer) closed. The indie boutique in LA is dying a slow death! I do think there is a big difference between LA and NY where retail is concerned. The shopper in LA is way too hip to H&M and Zara and online flash sales and can buy a new t shirt to go with the same pair of jeans over and over, so doesn't need to burn through clothing like New Yorkers. The 2 new stores slated to open in LA right now: Intermix and Scoop. Not indie. M.Fredric is practically a chain store now…so it almost doesn’t count. I cannot tell you how many times customers come into my store and say, you are the best store, I am so glad you are here, but they still aren’t shopping enough to really make a huge difference in terms of profitability. Breaking even for 4 years since the recession does not make sense anymore. "Waiting it out" is not the way to stay in business....or make any money doing it. “To thrive in the fashion game, retailers need to excel where they traditionally led the market—by providing excellent service with a knowledgeable staff and offering brands and fashions that no one else does.” Really lady? How about being able to thrive at competing with Barneys and Saks who go on sale so early that we can never get proper margins. Our best days are now when we are 50% off. That is not a business model. How about asking designers to not sell to Gilt or Bloomingdales? That kills their business, so it is almost impossible to sell lines that no one else does. And with the way trade shows have developed, everyone is looking at the same things at market, and it is rare to find a fresh brand. Even when they come to you directly (not via a trade show), you are only one store on their list, and they will not give you an exclusive unless you can write a huge order, which is the opposite of what she recommends. Alisa is right. The designers now need to share the responsibility with the boutique. We cannot take all the risk and all the loss when something doesn’t sell at full price. Similar to the majors, boutiques should be able to get chargebacks and markdown money. Furthermore, the designer can go directly to Gilt or wherever and sell their merchandise. We cannot. They have many more ways to handle unsold goods and still retain a decent margin. "Landlords often make special rent deals with independents and popular neighborhood businesses so these places can continue serving their customers," Luchs said…not in a high-end area like West Hollywood. The landlords are still trying to squeeze every penny out of the retailers and treat us all the same, whether we are Restoration Hardware or a one off store. That sounds nice in theory, Jay, but until you have sat down at a table to negotiate with these landlords, it is only that. While all of this sounds negative, I do think indie boutiques can survive, but there are way more challenges and hurdles. If the entire business does not come together to support independent retailers and figure out a way to make their business work, everyone will be stuck at the mall, which means a lot of designers will have to go out of business as well. The whole business model needs to change. On a separate note, Rick Caruso himself actually visited me before Thanksgiving! They thought they were stealth, but I knew exactly who he was. So, they really are looking for boutiques. Cannot wait to hear what kind of rents they want. Westfield tried to do something similar and they refused to lower the rents...so we'll see.

Indie Boutiques

There is a place for the independent boutiques but everybody needs to come together to figure out how to increase margins and produce a viable business model. In my opinion it will take smarter operations, better use of technology to cut expenses, and reexamining the extra costs present in the supply chain that we have all come to accept as normal. At the end of the day, people will always like to touch and feel clothing before purchasing, similar to the reason why catalogues and magazines will never completely be extinct, and while good customer service and hard to find product offering is a start, it needs to be supported by a smarter way of doing business and a renegotiated supply chain that takes advantage of the technology that exists in the market instead of fighting it.

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